Hawaii is in the national spotlight as President Barack Obama prepares to announce how his administration will accommodate religious employers after runaway controversy over a new requirement for birth control coverage. 

The state had been seen as a possible model for finding a compromise between the Obama administration and religious leaders unhappy with the requirement.

In Hawaii, women who work at religious institutions can still get coverage of birth control at the price they would pay if their employer was covering the cost — but the employer does not have to cover the cost because the employee is referred to a separate coverage plan.

Senior administration officials said in a conference call with reporters on Friday that the president’s plan will not be exactly like the approach used in Hawaii, but acknowledged that it has similarities. Instead, employers would be removed from the referral process. 

Officials said that key elements of the way Hawaii handles the would not be workable at the federal level. Here’s how the White House describes the new plan:

“Under the new policy to be announced today, women will have free preventive care that includes contraceptive services no matter where she works. The policy also ensures that if a woman works for religious employers with objections to providing contraceptive services as part of its health plan, the religious employer will not be required to provide contraception coverage, but her insurance company will be required to offer contraceptive care free of charge.”

Obama is scheduled to speak about the matter around 12:15 p.m. EST.